Government
BY HALEY MCLEOD, BEN THOMPSON & GRACIE WARHURST
Hutto gets feedback on FY25 26 budget The city of Hutto received input from 305 residents, business owners, visitors and employees between Feb. 18 and March 7, as part of its Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget process. The results Common results show a desire to manage growth in a sustainable way, according to the city’s result summaries. Primary concerns for city spending included allocating resources to the city’s infrastructure, with responses across the board focusing on roads and utility systems. Respondents proposed prioritizing infra- structure improvements over other services and suggested xing existing roads and sidewalks, widening roads in developing areas, and generally improving trac ow. The responses also emphasize a need for better communication, transparency and public involvement from the city. Residents showed a desire for information about what’s happening in Hutto, especially in nances, projects and City Council.
1.45-acre tract o Schultz rezoned for retail use Pugerville City Council approved a zoning change for a 1.45-acre plot for retail and business use at its meeting March 25. The details The property, located along the south side of Schultz Lane, sits near the Springbrook residential subdivision. City Council approved an ordinance to apply split zoning to the land, with .85 acres zoned retail, and the remaining .58 acres zoned for general business. The new zoning designation will “enable future development” in the area, city of Pugerville Planning Manager Dr. Yasmin Turk said. Several businesses sit nearby, including gas stations, a car wash, a Starbucks and a future daycare facility. General business zoning allows for a range of retail and oce uses, and some speci c residential uses like an assisted living facility. Retail zoning has similar uses, and should spe- ci cally serve nearby residential areas, according to Pugerville’s development code. Austin metro grows to 25th most populous The Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area became the 25th largest in the country last year after continuing to rise in national rankings, boosted by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of new residents since the start of the decade. Overview Entering the 2020s, the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area ranked as the 28th most populated in the U.S. with 2.3 million residents. Following years of steady population increases, the region ranked 25th with an estimated 2.55 million residents as of July 2024, a nearly 11% increase, per new census estimates released in March. The Greater Austin totals cover Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties.
General business
Retail
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What else? This zoning supports Pugerville’s vision for the upper westside district, Turk said. The area should aspire to enhance pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, increase housing options with the opportunity for mixed use, and increase access and safety to parks while using trails as transporta- tion, according to the city’s future land use plan. Pugerville constructed a realignment of Schultz Lane in 2009 for nearby road improve- ments. As part of the process, the city zoned the land acquired for the realignment to general business, and the former right of way for Schultz Lane was not zoned.
Central Texas leaders strive to address wage theft
launched the county’s Economic Justice Enforce- ment Initiative in September 2021, said his team has received complaints in the construction and hospi- tality industries, as well as from both white-collar and blue-collar sectors. Members of the public, regardless of their immigrant status, can report incidents of wage theft to the Travis County District Attorney’s oce through the agency’s website or by emailing TCDAWageTheft@traviscountytx.gov.
Recent increases in reported wage theft have prompted local leaders to push for stronger initia- tives to hold employers accountable. The overview Last year, 1,296 cases of wage theft were reported in Central Texas, with roughly $21 million in back wages due to workers, according to the U.S. Depart- ment of Labor. Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza, who
Wage theft claims in Central Texas
Travis County
Williamson County
Hayes County
1,000
0 200 400 600 800
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR’S WAGE AND HOUR DIVISIONTEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSIONCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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PFLUGERVILLE HUTTO EDITION
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